Earlier this summer, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced their 2013 International Award Winners for architectural excellence. Showcasing a list of imaginative, dramatic and green designs, the awards provide exciting insight into where the future of global architecture lies—and forecast the eventual winner of the Lubetkin Prize, an annual distinction given to projects outside the UK built by RIBA architects. In advance of the September 26th announcement of the Lubetkin Prize winner, we revisit RIBA’s 3 finalists.

Named World Building of the Year at the 2012 World Architecture Festival, Singapore’s Cooled Conservatories explore the effects of climate change on those environments most likely to be affected. The moist and dry conservatories, named Cloud Forest and Flower Dome, respectively, are a stunning site in Marina Bay. Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, the project is many things in one: a beautiful building, a lesson in ecological education, and a stunning feat of architectural engineering.

Architectural firm Grimshaw, in collaboration with Dattner Architects, have created a study in sustainable living. The design for this mixed-use and mixed-income complex is hoped to be a template for the further development of social housing across New York. One of the Via Verde’s main features is its relationship with the natural world. Central to the tiered building are plants and gardens, helping to provide a setting for healthier urban living.

A retail, office and entertainment complex like no other, Galaxy Soho by Zaha Hadid Architects, has four main domes, interconnected with sweeping bridges and platforms that resemble the lines of an alien ship. The futuristic design, which was actually inspired by nature, is a fluid contemporary space whose lines and curves flow into each other, creating an unmistakeable mark on the city skyline.